Not a Danish National Was living in both England and Spain for years before and lost the right in UK. Never had the right to begin with in Spain. I am not allowed to vote in a General Election. I am a however British, it was where I was born and what it says on my passport.
What passport do your kids have Danelaw? Can’t you get dual citizenship either UK/Spain (as you are Spanish by descent) or UK/Denmark? I’ve looked it up, all allowed if you move fast, before we crash and burn out. It’s just a bit of paper, shouldn’t change how you feel. I wish I could scam one somehow. Good to hear from you.
Totally agree with this. I have now been in France for nearly 8 years. I enjoy the work/life balance here, I have benefited from the healthcare system, as has my family, and my two kids are growing up naturally bilingual. However, I have a British passport. I work in tourism and often get asked if I feel more French, or if I wanted England or France in the World Cup. Both have the same answer, I may live here, and enjoy it, but I'm British and no matter where I am living that won't change. The only difference living here has made is that I feel European as well as British, and my hope is that that will not change.
Food retailers are have a grim laugh at the government telling them they should start stockpiling food in the event of a no deal Brexit. They have similarly said that medicines wholesalers should start to build up stocks of drugs. You know, the kind of stuff you would do if a war was imminent. Reassuring isn’t it? It also displays such a stunning ignorance of the facts of life around cash flow, distribution and logistics, just the way that trade, especially trade in perishable goods (which medicines are, some of them have stunningly short use by dates, have to be made up and used within hours) works, that one wonders quite how stupid our government and their advisors are. Perhaps they will start issuing ration cards as well, just to build up our confidence that all will be well. Though it is quite impressive how totally the Tories have committed to no longer being the party of business. Bravo. Can anyone tell me what, exactly, they are the party of now? Certainly not the party of low tax, the tax burden now is the highest it has been for 50 years, since the days of super tax on the wealthy, and tax will go up to pay for the promises to the NHS. Barnier has said that May’s offer to collect customs duties on behalf of the EU, the cornerstone of her Chequers not quite agreement, is not acceptable. Which was entirely predictable.
Please don’t distract me while I’m building an air raid shelter in my garden. And fitting a gas mask on the dog.
In other news I just sold the missus for 20 tins of tripe and a chlorinated chicken. Keeping the dog as I like the company.
Serious stuff now. For the first time in 30 years the average British household is spending more than it earns -£900 a year more. Of course the poor overspend by most, up to 2.5 times their income, whereas the wealthiest spend less than half of theirs. This means we run on ever increasing debt. £37bn was deposited in saving accounts last year, with £80bn borrowed. So the banks are lending far more than they are getting in. All is fine as long as the poor keep paying the interest and get further in debt, as long as they spend. But of course the tiniest downturn in the economy or rise in interest rates (planned) will increase the number of people defaulting and once a critical mass of these is reached the whole thing comes tumbling down as we realise the whole system is built on fresh air, ‘confidence’ and greed. We know it will crash because it has many times before, most notably in 2008. We have spent 10 years propping up a system that will inevitably, by its very nature, **** us right up again. ‘Austerity’ has achieved nothing except make the rich, who have no skin in the game, richer and the poor poorer. Will we ever learn? Quite cross.
As I understand it, all 'austerity' achieved (if it was an achievement?) was to slow down the rate of borrowing.
The alternative to austerity was more borrowing - which is what households are doing too much of anyway. I'm no economist, but this idea we borrow our way out of debt seems a bit of a fairy tale
Depends really. If interest on that borrowing is relatively cheap, a capable government should back itself to see a positive return.
I see the argument, but if there isn't a positive return, we're Venezuela Mark 2. There's nothing stopping businesses from borrowing, employment is at a near all time high. As I say, I'm not expert, but the thought of the government taking on more debt worries the hell out of me
I guess you are talking about government borrowing. I don’t think even the Tories deny that under austerity the gap between rich and poor has widened. People are borrowing because we have created a high employment low wage economy, and everyone is encouraged to buy stuff all the time, because this is ‘growth’. Austerity might have contributed to personal debt levels, but the fundamental issue is the behaviour of the financial sector and the ease of getting credit, plus our relaxed national attitude to personal debt (which horrifies my German, Italian and Japanese friends). It’s a house of cards, small changes in circumstances (let’s say in April next year) will send the whole thing crashing again, and the government will need to decide whether to do the same again - bail out the financiers and ladle on the austerity, or try something different. This is not a party political point, Labour went for the bailout and limited austerity, Cameron/Osbourne exaggerated it. Next time might be a bit different, more UK focussed rather than global. When it happens, as it inevitably will, and Vince Cable claims that he predicted it but didn’t tell anyone, you can say ‘**** off Vince, Stan was way ahead’. Good time to invest in debt collecting/ bailiff firms.
The wealth gap widens, yet the rich are paying an increasing proportion of tax. At least most are. Perhaps the Amazons could pay more, but they avoid tax everywhere including the US. I accept there are families that are stretched because of high rents etc. But I also think that there are families in higher income brackets that want a good standard of living and are prepared to borrow to get it without too much thought about repayment. The new car, the holiday in the Bahamas, the house extension. It's poor financial planning, and may be this is something that should be taught in school, the rudiments anyway. I agree with you we're dealing with a house of cards, and potential negative equity in the next few years if interest rates rise, borrowers default and houses are repossessed. The financiers should be properly capitalised this time, post-2008, but it could send property prices in a spiral downwards.
I miss the debate but it is hard to get decent internet here in the EU. Bloody cost of shopping is a nightmare. Never complain about prices back home.
